Design and Development of New products from Sea Salt Remains of Phetchsamutkhiri Group to Promote Competitive Commercial Competence

Abstract

The research was aimed 1. to investigate the management ability and the readiness in developing new products from sea salt remains of Phetchsamutkhiri group, 2. to study consumers’ behaviors in terms of the factors affecting their buying decisions made on the products from the sea salt remains, and 3. to establish guidelines in developing new product prototypes from the sea salt remains. Mixed Methods was employed in the research. The research instruments consisted of an interview, a questionnaire, and an evaluation form. The data were analyzed by using descriptive statistics, inferential statistics, and content analysis.

The results showed that 1) the business members of the group had the readiness and potential to develop the new products but still they needed more financial supports, more development on the professional skills and knowledge, broader expansion of the operational workforce, broader expansion of the alliance network, as well as a formulation of an explicit policy on the support and promotion of the marketing; 2) the factors affecting the consumers’ buying decisions were varied based on their age, occupation, and income at a significant level of .05. The most common form of the new developed products was to become a kind of souvenirs;